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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30143076">mad magdahlia</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MigrantMayhem/pseuds/MigrantMayhem'>MigrantMayhem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>heartless [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>baldur's gate 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Campfire stories, Found Family Elements, Gen, Reluctant Bonding, Storytelling, and this is what she does with it, mags' highest stat is her charisma, original character background</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:08:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30143076</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MigrantMayhem/pseuds/MigrantMayhem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wyll was just hoping to lighten the mood. Jokes on him, then.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Wyll tries to lead group therapy, rolls a nat 1. They all learn something about Mags though, unfortunately.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>heartless [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2218569</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>mad magdahlia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>oh my god you guys I am just CHARMED by all these characters</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So, interesting band of… </span>
  <em>
    <span>fellows</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we got here,” Wyll smiled around the campfire, trying to ease the delicate tension. Five pairs of bitter eyes landed on him, and he suddenly regretted saying anything. “Oh, come on! Where were you, before the mind flayers snatched you up? One of you’s gotta have a story to tell.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And, if we did,” Astarion tilted his head like an animal studying prey, “What makes you think we would tell it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly,” Shadowheart muttered over a mouthful of rabbit stew, “This is a partnership of convenience-- and I use the term ‘partnership’ lightly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Chk</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Lae’zel’s throat clicked in that distinctly githyanki way of hers, “We will not waste breath over trivialities. We are already dawdling enough as it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>meal</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Lae’zel,” Gale complained, “We </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>need this to survive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A meal could easily have been any rodent we found on the road. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>is a luxury-- one we cannot afford.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wyll let the bickering simmer out around him, eyes glaring into the campfire. Dunno why he bothered-- he should know that the only thing tying this lot together was the constant fear of impending destruction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My, you lot are quite a cheery bunch,” Mags spoke up from the other side of the camp-- those sage-colored eyes reflecting humor in the firelight. She was the only other thread holding this ragtag bunch together. She was bold, but charming. She knew how to talk to people. But then again, she was mad as a bat and twice as toothy. He couldn’t tell if the camp was rallied together by her or in </span>
  <em>
    <span>fear </span>
  </em>
  <span>of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mh, might you have a story to tell, dear?” Astarion grinned in that distinctly predatory way of his, “If so, I’m sure we’re all ears.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rolled her neck, held the silence for a moment, before she grinned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aye, I could. I could tell you why they call me Mad Mags.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a pause that fell over the camp. Despite the mischievous gleam in her eye, Wyll could feel-- the whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>camp </span>
  </em>
  <span>could feel-- this story would be lacking in good humor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Once upon a time, I was livin’ in Daggerford. Not for long, don’t live anywhere very long these days, but long enough. People started to spot me-- doin’ odds and ends. Lookin’ in places no one oughta be lookin’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few eyes glanced around, but they remained quiet, listening. Lae’zel crossed her arms in disinterest, but didn’t interfere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“People tell me I’ve a nose for trouble. I knew I found it when I found myself on the edge of Warlock’s Crypt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Warlock’s Crypt?” Gale studied her, “They tell fascinating tales of that place, but very few manage to get close enough to peek inside…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could see why. Whole place was crawlin’ with walkin’ corpses. I kept sneakin’ in and out of there a few times, collectin’ bits and bobs for a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>benefactor</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was about two days' travel there, I’d spend three or four days in the wild, then begin the march back. Everything was fine and dandy, I was gettin’ pay, keepin’--” She smiled ruefully as she stopped herself, “Everything was goin’ fine. Then a few of the lads overheard me speakin’ to this’ benefactor.’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something in her eyes made a chill roll down Wyll’s spine. She met his gaze and grinned wretchedly, and in his mind he could see </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>consorting with… </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>… something old, rotting… much like he and Mizora communicated. He sat upright, eyes flashing around before realizing that he was the only one to receive the vision. He settled himself externally-- internally, he remained deeply </span>
  <em>
    <span>unsettled</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, me and this ‘benefactor’ communicated magically, and the concept was lost on the foolish farmhands. Thought I was talkin’ to walls-- worse yet, to </span>
  <em>
    <span>ghosts</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Think one of them fancied me, might have been pissed I was less than wooed by his attempts at courting. Said he had known what I was doin’ at Warlock’s Crypt. Said he’d been watchin’. Accused me of walkin’ amongst the dead like I was one of ‘em.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Were you?” Astarion couldn’t help but ask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She grinned, but she didn’t answer. “I told ‘em he was mad. They told me </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the mad one, gettin’ too close to Warlock’s crypt like I was.” She chuckled, “You lot won’t be surprised to know I told ‘em to fuck off, less I teach ‘em what it’s like to lay with the dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shadowheart’s brow twitched up slightly, “Yes, that sounds like you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gale shook his head, “And you mean to tell me you never thought to just… tell them you were well and truly alive? Or, did that slip your troubled mind?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something darkened in her expression, “Well, it’s hard to argue with people when you got a scar like this, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled her loose collar down taut against her skin, revealing a long, raised, ugly scar that cut down the center of her chest. It looked like a damned autopsy scar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mags’ grin was wide at the horror on her companions’ faces. “They called me all sorts of names. Started tellin’ the other townsfolk to watch me. You know, usual small-town stuff. They started refusin’ to let me room at the inn. Finally, just as I was starting to have my fill of the abuse, they hired a damn paladin to take care of me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must know how to cause a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of trouble if they sicced a </span>
  <em>
    <span>paladin </span>
  </em>
  <span>on you,” Wyll commented, thinking of the undead creature she saw in her memories.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Astarion laughed aloud, shaking his head, “Oh! Tell me, did he try to turn you? Love it when they do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wyll’s shock turned from Mags to Astarion, sitting up a little straighter. Mags laughed with him, smacking his knee as though they were the oldest and best of friends, “That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>what he did, poor fucker! I cannot tell you how </span>
  <em>
    <span>surprised </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was when it </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>work!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wyll chuckled nervously, exchanging a glance between his companions. Shadowheart’s face was eerily neutral, while Gale seemed just as disturbed as he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Enough</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Lae’zel spoke, standing from the fire pointedly, “I had foolishly thought wading through your excessive banter might prove useful,” She scowled, “It appears I was wrong. Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>waste my time again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The laughter died down, and Mags watched with a grin as Lae’zel stormed away from the firepit. Mags shot Astarion a look, leaning back to study him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, how did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>encounter a paladin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Astarion’s brows shot to his hairline, and he, too, leaned back. “Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>, my dear. I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>magistrate</span>
  </em>
  <span>, everyone assumes you’ve either got a god or a devil in your back pocket.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wyll excused himself from the campfire, trying to sort out what he had just been told.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he asked for stories, this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>what he had expected.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Wyll caught Mags walking out of camp, out of earshot from the rest of the party, “What kind of blade leaves a scar like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She met his gaze for a moment, before looking back out on her path.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A bonesaw.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she walked away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait--” Wyll called after her, “What kinda answer is that?! Where you goin’?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gotta piss,” She said simply, crassly, and the smirk on her face made her almost tempted to call her bluff. But he knew better than to try to play cards with mad women.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head as she walked into the darkness, and couldn’t help but wonder… maybe those lads from Daggerforth weren’t so wrong.</span>
</p>
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